Drill passes are a new thing in FIFA 16

Thanks to the FIFA 16 demo, we can now bring you some more details on the game. Many of you will be asking how to do the “Knuckleball” free kick on FIFA 16 and we have some tips on how you can pull it off just like real life stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Taking free kicks from distance and scoring is no easy task, but if you watch the following video you’ll be well on your way to perfecting the technique. It’s become known as the Knuckleball and you can get your training in now via the FIFA 16 demo in preparation for taking on opponents online when FIFA 16 launches later this month.

In FIFA 16, the game pace is considerably slower and penalizes players who insist on trying to cross the field with sprinters all the time. Although it seems a good idea, very long runs through the defense will make you lose the ball again and again. To improve performance, appeals to exchange more rhythmic passes. This will give you time to notice flaws in the defense and arming the counterattack the opponent. The temptation to start the online mode of FIFA usually huge, but it is definitely not suitable for any player. Before venturing into online play mode Seasons or Ultimate Team, invest a few hours in matches on the PC or consoles.

New animations have been added to give the keepers more tools to defend against certain situations, including the ability to tip the ball over the bar when tracking back to prevent a lob, which will help nix the infamous 'top corner' glitch that became prevalent last year. Finally, women’s teams have been added. FIFA 16 will feature 12 women’s national teams, including England, USA, Germany, France and Brazil. Players will be able to compete in Match Day, Offline Tournament Mode, and online friendlies. Each player has had their likeness captured with EA’s face-scanning tech, too, plus the US and Canadian national teams have been mo-capped to provide full animation detail.

The Artificial Intelligence has improved big style, especially on harder difficulties. They know how to play like pros. On World Class, I had the ball taken from me early on and spent the rest of my time trying to get it back. It was tough. Online though, it’s easy to mess up. Interceptions are plentiful and failed passes are never too far away, depending on your skill of course. The lag still remains though, so it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. Drill passes are a new thing in FIFA 16. No longer can you do a nifty trick pass which looked cool, no doubt, but was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Now you can make more direct passes to your team mates using a simple button press. I used this a lot. It kept my team together and opened up plenty of opportunities for me. I could rely on chipped through-balls no more however. EA have nerfed them, to my dismay, making the computer anticipate them a lot easier.

My favorite mode in FIFA for a long time has been Career and in terms of new additions this year, we see pre-season tournaments, which are great for an extra source of income. You’ll have a choice of tournaments varying in difficulty and the teams represented in them, which will give you some spare cash as you progress through the tournament. Another new feature are training sessions, which are great for keeping your players form in check. You can select five players or the same player to complete five sessions varying from defensive to attacking drills. Complete them successfully and receive a high grade and you’ll boost your attributes up, which in turn puts up your overall rating. It’s great for training up your youth players.

Game modes have been improved with the addition of the FUT Draft - although this does feel as if its another way for EA Sports to extract money out of the consumer. The addition of the FIFA trainer will be welcome for beginners with the tool attaching itself the player - helping to learn the basics. EA Sports have released another great version of FIFA but it feels as if the gameplay is in a transitional stage with certain aspects needed to be turned up or down to ensure a better experience. It will be an enjoyable 11 months until FIFA 17 comes out but you feel as if EA missed a chance to build on last year's version.